Thill-coupling



(No Model S. A. WHITFIELD. THILL UOUPLING.

No. 480,052. Patented Aug. 2, 1892.

WITNESSES ATTORNEYS,

" NITE STATES SAMUEL A. WHITFIELD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 480,052, dated August 2, 1892. Application filed November 25, 1891- Serial No. 413,035- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL A. WHITFIELD, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and improved Thill-Ooupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in thill-couplings; and the object of my invention is to produce a simple, efficient, and cheap coupling which may be easily applied to a vehicle, which is extremely strong and durable, enables the thills to be easily changed for a pole or a pole for thills, and which also is constructed in such a manner as to prevent rattling.

To this end my invention consists in a thillcoupling the construction of which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the thill-coupling embodying my invention as applied to a thill and axle. Fig. 2 is a broken side elevation of the same, the axle being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a detail plan View of the clip-bar, and Fig. 4 is a detail rear elevation of the antirattling spring.

The clip-bar 10, which also serves as the coupling-jack, is adapted to be secured to the lower ends or bolts of the clip 11,which rests upon the axle 12 in the usual manner, and by means of the bolts and suitable nuts the clipbar is held firmly against the bottom of the axle. The clip-bar is provided with holes 13, which receive the clip-bolts, and that part of the clip-bar which extends forward from the axle is widened, as shown at 10, and its front edge is beveled or inclined, as shown at 10 to provide room for the swing of the knuckle on the thill-iron. The front end of the .clipbar is provided with side flanges 14:, which prevent the side movement of the thill-iron knuckle, and the rear ends of these flanges terminate in shoulders 14, which rest firmly against the front side of the axle, and consequently greatly strengthen the coupling. The

forward ends of the flanges 14 are rounded, as shown at 15, so as to correspond in shape to the shape of the thill-iron knuckle, and

these rounded portions are provided with up Wardly and rearwardly extending slots 16, which are adapted to receive the bolt 17, which holds the thill-iron knuckle in place, the bolt extending through the knuckle and through the slots 16 and having a suitable nut on one end to hold it in place. This construction provides for the easy removal of the shafts, as by simply loosening the nut on the bolt 17 the shafts may be lifted from the coupling, the bolt 17 sliding out through the slots 16. The thill-iron knuckle 18 is produced at the rear end of the thill-iron 19 in the usual manner, and this iron is like the ordinary thilliron exceptthatit has at its upper side asocket 20, adapted to receive the rear reduced ends of the thill 21, and this arrangement obviates the use of a bolt near the end of the thill, and consequently prevents the thill from being split. The anti-rattling spring 22 is adapted to be placed between theknuckle and the axle, the spring being of an essentially S shape and having at its rear end a notch 23, adapted to fit over the front bolt of the clip 11, andit has on top an oblong hole 24, through which the bolt 25 extends, and the hole 2 1 is made oblong, so as to allow of a certain amount of play of the spring. This oblong shape of the hole 24 is indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2. The bolt 25 extends downward through the hole 24 and into a threaded hole 25 in the clip-bar 10, and by tightening the bolt the tension of the anti-rattling spring may be regulated. The bolt also is in position to prevent the accidental removal of the thill iron knuckle 18 in case the spring 22 should break. The front end of the spring 22 curves forward, as shown at 26 in Fig. 2, and fits snugly beneath the knuckle 18, and the pressure of the spring takes up all slack motion and prevents any rattling of the parts.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the coupling is constructed in a way to have great strength; that the shafts may be almost instantly applied or removed; that the shafts may be raised to any desired height; that the anti-rattling spring may be given just the tension desired, and that the spring will follow up the thill-iron knuckle in a way to prevent all rattling.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the thill-coupling, of a spring 22, curved to rest on the rear end of the thill-iron, thence curved or bowed upward, rearward, and downward into contact with the thill-clip, and a bolt extending down through the upward bow into the thill-clip, substantially as shown and described.

2. A thill-coupling comprising a clip-bar adapted to be secured to an axle, said clip-bar having side flanges with slots therein to receive the axial bolt of the thill-iron knuckle, an S-shaped spring held between the flanges, one end of the spring pressing against the under side of the knuckle and the opposite end pressing against the axle-clip, and a tension-bolt extending downward through the spring and into a threaded hole in the clipbar, substantially as described.

SAMUEL A. WHITFIELD. Witnesses: M. S. SODERBERG,

PHIL J. FARLEY. 

